The entire world has been grappled with the deadly disease of Covid-19 popularly called Coronavirus. It has ravaged the socio-economic and political settings of the world.
The death toll keeps increasing by the day and the number of infected persons also surges every hour. The sports industry has been totally locked down causing serious economic downfall to broadcasters, athletes and club owners. No one knows when the leagues across Europe and other continents will resume due to the uncertainty of the Covid-19.
As at 1st April, 2020, in the United States the new coronavirus outbreak surpassed the official tally in China, with more than 3,400 fatalities recorded, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University. That means the US now has the third highest death toll after Italy and Spain, and the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world with more than 175,000.
Meanwhile, Spain, the United Kingdom and France each reported their biggest overnight jump in deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Around the world, more than 820,000 people have been confirmed to have the virus, and at least 174,000 have recovered. More than 40,000 people have died.
This shows that the world is facing a serious economic crackdown. The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world faces the most challenging crisis since World War II, confronting a pandemic threatening people in every country, one that will bring a recession “that probably has no parallel in the recent past.”
There is also a risk that the combination of the disease and its economic impact will contribute to “enhanced instability, enhanced unrest, and enhanced conflict,” the UN chief said at the launch of a report on the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19.
According to a renowned global economist, Haider A. Khan, the world leaders must act quickly and resolutely before it is too late. He said we are facing the possibility of a vicious downward cycle in the global economy.
*The Nigerian Situation*
What is happening in Nigeria with regards to covid 19? Is our situation similar to other countries of the world that are recording deaths continously? Do we have the qualified personnel and facilities to contain the spread of this virus? What is the political economy of the whole scenario? These are the questions that have been reverberating in my mind.
Read Also:
As at 1st April, 2020, Nigeria recorded 139 confirmed cases with two deaths. Unlike in China, Spain, Italy and most countries in the world, in which patients will be shown on the screens of television being attended to by Doctors, the Nigerian situation is entirely different. We hardly see the patients only to hear or read every day from the NCDC of the new confirmed cases. Believe me theses figures will keep increasing by the day.
The corona cases are becoming a small competition among governors with each governor trying to come and confirm new cases in his state. Is it the responsibility of the governors to announce the new cases or the NCDC? Think about it.
Nigeria has been in lockdown with inter-states travel being banned. This has affected the socio-economic activities of Nigerians. Nigerians have been querying whether the virus belongs to the crème de la crème. My simple observation shows that you hardly see a typical Nigerian being contracted with coronavirus.
My fear is that, the campaign against the virus should not be turned into business venture. Nigeria is not ready to fight coronavirus presently as the country lacks the necessary facilities like ventilators and isolation centres. Only God can save us.
Another question I want to ask is that does this virus really kill Nigerians? Of the two deaths recorded so far, we have not known the identity of the second victim. The first was a 68 year old man, what about the second one? Also, what is the situation of the patients being treated? Are they in stable or critical condition? We are in a digital information age, where people need to be furnished with information every hour.
The Commissioner of Health in Lagos projected that the cases in Lagos to hit 36,000. What mathematical statistics did he use to arrive at this figure? This reminds me of Governor Ortom’s claim that the suspected case in Benue was positive even before the result of the patient was tested. The patient came out boldly to tell the world that she was negative. Why did Ortom come to the podium to make such announcement in a hurry?
El-Rufai said he tested positive, but remains in government house of Kaduna State, so also Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde. Are there isolation centres in government houses?
With the proliferation of donations, I hope the state governors will not use coronavirus as a way of attracting attention so that their states will be among the beneficiaries. Recall that Lagos was given a whopping N10 billion by the federal government.
What we want now is that the NCDC should be constantly updating us with the state of the health of the patients not by inflating the figure of new cases every hour. Where are the patients kept? Are they responding to treatment? What type of treatment are they receiving? Does covid 19 survive in the blood of ordinary Nigerian? How does the NCDC plan to judiciously use the donations it received?
If the above questions are answered appropriately, Nigerians will understand hook, line and sinker what they read from the pages of newspaper or listen from the radio and television.
Nura Garba writes from Bayero University, Kano
